Killings of civilians threaten Afghanistan mission

By Jim Michaels and Oren Dorell, USA TODAY

Allegations that an American servicemember went on a shooting spree that left at least 16 Afghan civilians dead have plunged relations between the two countries to a new low and threaten to test U.S. strategy to end the conflict.

By Allauddin Khan, AP

The covered body of a person who was allegedly killed Sunday by a U.S. servicemember is seen inside a minibus in Panjwai, Kandahar province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan.

The covered body of a person who was allegedly killed Sunday by a U.S. servicemember is seen inside a minibus in Panjwai, Kandahar province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan.

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Investigators have yet to determine a motive for the killings. Afghan and coalition officials are bracing for waves of anger from Afghans that could further damage the relationship between coalition forces and their Afghan partners as the United States draws down its forces there.

Sunday's shooting in southern Afghanistan came after other incidents, including the inadvertent burning of Qurans at a U.S. base, that have angered Afghan civilians and government officials and touched off riots.

There were no signs of protests Monday and it was unclear what the response would be to Sunday's deadly spree. It may not be as dramatic as after the Quran burnings since the desecration of the Muslim holy book is viewed as one of the worst sins in Islam. Afghans have also faced numerous instances of civilian casualties from coalition military operations, though rarely the kind of killings seen Sunday.

The Taliban has vowed revenge for the shootings, saying in a statement on their website that "sick-minded American savages" committed the "blood-soaked and inhumane crime" in Panjwai district, a rural region outside Kandahar that is the cradle of the Taliban and where coalition forces have fought for control for years.

The militant group promised the families of the victims that it would take revenge "for every single martyr with the help of Allah."

U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan have stepped up security following the shootings Sunday in Kandahar province out of concern about retaliatory attacks. The U.S. Embassy has also warned American citizens in Afghanistan about the possibility of reprisals.

"The last couple of months I've been more concerned about our ability to accomplish the mission in Afghanistan than I have in a long time," said Mark Jacobson, a former NATO official in Afghanistan at the German Marshall Fund.

Witnesses described a scene in which a gunman walked from home to home, killing men, women and children in a nearby village.

Villagers described how they cowered in fear as gunshots rang out while the soldier roamed from house to house firing on those inside. They said he entered three homes in all and set fire to some of the bodies. Eleven of the dead were from a single family.

The burning of the bodies may ignite even more outrage because it is seen as the desecration of corpses and therefore against Islam.

The servicemember, whose name has not been released, then returned to his base and turned himself into authorities, the coalition command said Sunday. He remains in coalition custody and would likely be tried by U.S. military authorities.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings confirmed Monday that the number of dead was "in the teens" but declined to be more specific, saying U.S. forces had not been given access to independently count the bodies.

A U.S. official told the Associated Press that the soldier is from Washington state and was assigned to a remote special operations site. The official said he is from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the shootings. "This is an assassination, an intentional killing of innocent civilians and cannot be forgiven," he said.

U.S. officials tried to head off a deepening crisis. President Obama called Karzai to "express his shock and sadness," the White House said.

The shootings come at a sensitive time, as the U.S. shifts its focus from combat operations to training Afghan security forces. "We're at a point in the conflict where we need to transition and that requires … inherent trust," Jacobson said.

Incidents like these can come to define a conflict. Photos of U.S. servicemembers abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2004 helped inflame the insurgency.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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